a bird in a gilded cage
by tobeme
Summary: since there are no pretendermaximum ride fics, i figured it try to write one.  hope you like it.rated m for some language, thats all.  one shot for now, hope you enjoy


A/N this idea came after reading Maximum ride and seeing no maximum ride/pretender x-overs--i don't own maximum ride or pretender

takes place during maximum ride, in the institute for higher living and season one or two of pretender (doesn't matter much which)

* * *

Jarrod was having a bad night. He had infiltrated a dummy corporation of the center, the institute of higher living. He hated it, having to hide is distaste at his 'coworkers' projects, and the pain they caused. He'd helped where he could while he tracked down any information on his parents. His task done, he'd come back to do what he couldn't do before he was finished, he was going to free those held captive downstairs, and put those who could not survive out of their misery. He hated the thought of doing it, but...this had gone to far. The only successful mutations the institute had (not that he would allow them to know this) was his. During the Sim time devoted to the institute, he'd come up with the enforcer code little did they know, the aging effects of the code were built in by him, part of the genetics of the Doberman chromosomes splices he worked out. Too bad miss parker found him before he could finish his work.

"JARROD" miss parker said, just as He'd entered the stairwell that led to the institute "SYDNEY, BROOTS HES OVER HERE!"

with that Jarrod ran, and to gain distance began leaping down the flights of stairs thanking whatever idiot who decided to forgo the safety rails in this particular stairwell. A flight and a half down, he ran into an eraser named Ari, who was waiting near a hidden door into the sewer.

"you!" Jarrod shouted at Ari, "Get upstairs we have a security breach"

"no" Ari said "I have orders to stay right..."

"Are you willing to tell your boss exactly why you let complete strangers ARMED TO THE TEETH into the holding pens? If your lucky you'll find yourself BACK IN ONE, NOW GO!"

"but" Ari hesitated for 5 seconds then took off back upstairs, morphing as he ran.

Jarrod continued on running, nearly running down max as she was leading her charges up the stairs

If the man who'd nearly fell upon her hadn't had such quick reflexes, Max's fist might have broken a few ribs.

If he didn't say "thank god, you got them out" her right hook might have done damage.

"IF YOU DON'T GET OUT OF MY WAY WOLF-BOY I AM GOING TO SHOOT YOU"came a very angry womans voice echoed down the stairwell. The erasers reply was not heard, the two sudden gunshots, however, were.

"if you don't mind kids, do you know a way out" the man said, glancing nervously up the stairs.

"hurry right here,"max said pointing to the next landing, now convinced the man was not an eraser, no eraser could look that fearful, as if he might find himself in one of the cages downstairs if he did not vanish now. No eraser ever looked that way. Never. The handsome man was just that , max thought, a man.

_Not quite JUST a man max._ damn it the voice really needed to stop speaking in riddles. Strangely this was the most straightforward comment it made. _One is never who he seems, the other understands the spirits that guide her._ Well there went that. Ok. Just once voice can you make sense in 25words or less? Max thought to herself. the voice laughed Guiding the children she rescued and her flock out the secret sewer entrance. "through here mister" max called

"call me Jarrod" the man, Jarrod said.

"I'm Max, thats Fang, Iggy, Gassman, Fudge, and the little one with the dog is Angel" max replied, pointing out her flock.

"so max," as the group slogged through the sewers (as the few surviving freed children parted ways with Jarrod and Max's flock) "what were you doing down there? And why was the eraser waiting for you"

"we were looking for information on our parents" max said, ignoring the daggers shot at her by fang and the rest of her flock. "we were..."

"angelus" Jarrod muttered "damn bastards i knew the enforcers had been bred but the angelus? "

"WHAT! What do you know!"max shouted turning on Jarrod, forcing herself not to attack Jarrod

"well" Jarrod sighed, " you might argue that I'm your creator. Not that i had much choice. It was a ...simulation. I was to become a geneticist, and create two offshoot races of humanity, the erasers as they became known, and the angelus. If your here, then you must be angelus, the others, aren't as good as me" Jarrod smiled at that. "and the erasers have a minor glitch...that i placed there. The requirements for the genome required high levels of aggression. So, i added a bit more...their life cycle is that of a dogs, to keep them under control, and hopefully keep them out of 'production' as it were...to bad it didn't work... and the mods they added, ingenious, but they wont be able to extend their lives without knowing WHAT i did, and if they try, well...the results will be stillborn at best. You however, were a different project. What i put my hopes and dreams into. Do all the things i couldn't. The strength of two men, flight, other abilities as requested...took me a while though. And you shall live a long full life, as long as your not seriously injured"

"what do you mean hopes and dreams? Max said

"to be able to fly away, no matter what. Ultimate freedom. I was only a bird in a gilded cage. I wanted more for you. Now, I know better. Nothing is free in life, max, remember that. Everything you do has a consequence, for good or ill. If you ever need help, you can reach me here." max accepted what looked like a credit card. " if you need me, take out 911 dollars. I'll find you, ok? I hope you have better luck finding your parents than I've had. This is where we part, young one. I still have to finish my 'present' for miss parker." He grinned, "I have a heavenly quire to add to the decorations."

-fin


End file.
